"We definitely wanted a medal, but are happy with today's match" says Japanese captain

Peru’s captain Vivian Baella: “If I have to assess our performance at this World Championship, I am happy because we achieved our first goal, which was namely to be ranked among the best eight teams. Of course we wanted to move even higher in the standings, but this time we could not make it. We’ll try again in two years at the Junior Worlds. Today we were very tired and did not play well, so that was not a great way to end the tournament”.

Coach Manuel Hernan Artieda: “I am also satisfied with our overall performance here in Thailand, we achieved our main goal and from that we can only improve. Today, for the first time since the beginning of the tournament, the players were not that focused; they are tired and honestly looking forward to traveling back home and seeing again their parents. At that age it is not easy to be for such a long time away from home and today most of the girls were not in the right mood”.

Japan’s captain Chisato Mitsuyama: “”We are happy with this match but in this tournament we definitely wanted a medal, we’ll try again in two years”.

Coach Yoshiki Ogawa: “We missed our chance in the match against Serbia and so we did not make it in the top four. I also think we might have had a shot at a medal, but that was unfortunately not the case. For the future, as our players are quite short, we have to continue working on our technical skills, reception and speed are the key for Japan to compete with teams that are much taller and physically stronger”.